The CW’s Nancy Drew has proven to be an entertaining adaptation of the popular source materials - but is undermined by its commitment to its more supernatural elements. Created by Edward Stratemeyer as a female counterpart to The Hardy Boys - and penned by various ghostwriters - the character debuted back in 1930. With a new Nancy Drew 90th anniversary story due out in April, the young detective’s popularity has endured to this day. As such, a small screen adaptation developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage was met with equal excitement and skepticism. Fortunately, Nancy Drew emerged as a unique and pleasant surprise to many and has already been renewed for a second season.
Starring the impeccable Kennedy McCann as the titular detective, Nancy Drew season 1 has established the town of Horseshoe Bay and explored the myriad secrets of its residents. Still grieving the loss of her mother to pancreatic cancer and attempting to leave sleuthing behind, the show picked up with Nancy working her way through a gap year at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, the suspicious death of Tiffany Hudson dropped a mystery right into Nancy’s lap. Equally, it put Nancy Drew and her friends immediately in the crosshairs of local police and several other menaces. One of the most surprising of those threats has come from the world of the supernatural.
While multiple Nancy Drew books dabbled with otherworldly concepts, the show has dove headfirst into those particular waters. Since the premiere episode, Nancy has been haunted directly by the ghost of Lucy Sable. A seemingly murdered teenager turned local legend, “Dead Lucy” initially seemed like an unlikely culprit of Tiffany’s murder. Instead, Nancy discovered that the two crimes, despite being separated by nearly two decades, are likely connected. Equally, Bess Marvin has been attacked by the ghost of Tiffany Hudson, while George Fan was briefly possessed by her. After another ally was rendered comatose by a suspicious car crash, the local sheriff conducted a ritual which allowed George to enter the spirit realm to guide Ace’s soul back to his body. Meanwhile, in the midseason finale, Nancy was forced to reflect on forgotten memories - which revealed she had once clashed with an actual demonic entity plaguing the town. These additions to the mythology of Nancy Drew have been surprisingly effective - provoking genuine tension, successful jump-scares, and adding an air of unpredictability to proceedings. That being said, the use of supernatural has glaringly served to dimish both the show and Nancy Drew as a heroine.
Nancy Drew has a lot going for it - including a compelling cast, great dialogue, and genuinely enthralling mysteries. Repeatedly, however, the show has simply unveiled answers through spiritual means - rather than from Nancy doing much actual detecting. Nancy and her friends have engaged in several seances since the show began, communicating directly with Lucy. The first such event served to direct Nancy to the bloody dress hidden in her attic. The next proved even more helpful for what has been widely dubbed The Drew Crew - with them able to interrogate the town’s ghosts. Even when not performing seances, Lucy Sable’s ghost has frequently reached out to lend a helping hand.
If not offering visions of events, illuminating the months leading up to her murder, Lucy has communicated through electronic devices to ostensibly give Nancy a map of where to go and what to find. One of the latest of such moments saw Lucy lead Nancy to a time capsule that revealed several surprising connections between Lucy and some established supporting characters. While it makes sense to utilize this as something of a narrative shortcut now and again, Nancy Drew has become far too reliant on it. Even the aforementioned jaunt to the spirit realm came with a free handy answer dropped right into the character’s laps. As a result, Nancy herself has become more of a passenger in the surrounding mysteries rather than a driving force in solving them. Though Nancy has been given various other opportunities to shine, occasionally even veering into action hero territory, it remains no less a shame the character’s infamous intelligence isn’t being fully utilized. As such, it’s almost enough to wonder if Nancy Drew should eschew such ghostly elements in favor of some actual sleuthing in its sophomore outing.
More: The CW’s Nancy Drew Is Nothing Like The Books
